Fruit press



Jan. 19, 1932. MACCHlA 1,841,413

FRUIT PRESS Filed Dec. 15,1950 2 Sheets Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

3 BY 2 ATTORN Y Jan. 19, 1932. cc 1,841,413 FRUIT PRESS Filed Dec. 13, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l A? (/6 L 23 INVENTOR. 54 4mg WMIQ @46 Q W W Patented Jan. 19,1932

T M-i ANTHONY MAojoHIA', oF NnwyonK, N. Y.

A iplicafion filed.pecemberile, 1930.: SeriafNo. 502,664,;v f

This invention relates, generally, to presses; Si nilar characters of reference are em ployed in all of the' above described views and the invention, has reference, more par- 7 tlcularly, to a novel press adapted to squeeze the juices or liquid content out of fru'it'and the like. V

Fruit presses, as heretofore generally'constructecl, are more orless unsatisfactory-tin operation'because of the difficulty of removing the fruit pulptherefrom after the juices is have been squeezed' from the fruit; Commonly the bed or bottom of the press is adapted to be removed from the press by sliding the same endwise therefrom so that the pulp may be pushed downwardly out of 15 the press, but in practice thesebottoms or beds tend to stick in the pressowing to the pressure of the overlying fruit pulp and can be removed only with great difficulty.

The principal object of the present inventionis to provide a novel fruit press so constructed and arrangedthat'the.bed thereof may readily be removed fromthe same after the pressing operation, thereby enabling 7 ready removal of the compressed pulp from, the machine. l l Y a Another ob ect of the present inventionllles in the provisionof. anovel fruit press which is of s mple construction and ls 'easlly operated, the said press being extremely. powerall liquid from the material pressed.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understoood from the of aportion of the structure shown inig 2 but illustratesthe inachinebed in its lowere'd position ready for -removal from the machine; andp H l g Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line" 55 of Fig.

* ful in that the same will remove substantially following de-. l p i ,or aperture 13 provlded'there n to'a spout toindicate corresponding parts, i

Referring now'to the said drawings, .the' reference: numeral 1 designates the novel fruit press 1 of this" invention as a whole. Press 1 comprises a hollowrectangularbase L2 towhich are attached upwardlyfextending;

corner angle bars 3. The cornerangle bars extend upwardly from the base 2 and are" interconnectedfat theirupper ends and sub stantially midwayof their height by'transverse'bars 4c; Additional bars 5'interconnect;

thetransversebars 4. Bars 4 and 5 to'gether provide a substantially j rectangular frame to which vertical slats '6' are attached, asby rivets 7; thereby forming; the press body or crib 9 of thejpress; Slats 6 are spaced slight-3 ly from one another topermit the excretion of fruit or "other juicesjth'erebetween.

additional bar 8 'is'illustrated as encompassing or surrounding the press body;j9 of the press midway-oi the height of theslats f Thepre 'ssib'ody 9 of the, press is open at its top and bottom and'is adaptedtoha've I its bottomi closed by; a. removable bottom member or bed 10. which is'also formed of f V slightly spacedslats 1 1. Theremovable-bed .1'0 is'provided atits undersidewitha sump;

or drain pan 12, preferably made ofmetali 8 which drain-panis adapted to catchliquidj 7 passing. downwardlythrough the spaces be-fl tween the slats 11of'thebed' 10 and serves to convey this liquid through a centralhole 14 formed on pan'12, which'fspoutisadaptedl' in turn to convey the liquid te a suitable receptableflnot shown) placed at the-front ofthe jniachine. The bed 10 is of greater. width and depth than the press body or' crib: i 9 of the press'so thatliquid excretedthrough V e the sides of the "cribwill run down and flow throughjtheslots in the bed 10 and; into sump12.

A pair of secured 'afsby rivets, to the undersurface of thesunip .12 at the sides of the bed 10, which runners are adapted to rest upon and are" slidable over angle bars 16,"'-which exl tend from 'the frontto'thearear of the maspaced plates or runners 15 i sists of a plurality ofslightly spacedjslatswhich-are held together byv angle bars 26%.

In this way the bed 10 may be removed completely from the press.

In order to provide for the easy'removal ofthe bed 10. fromthe pressin use, the angle bars. l6 are. arranged: to. be vertically movable so that tlie..bed.10..may beloweredto free thesamefrom..thefrictional' engagement i off compressedpulp. within. thepress. body of the machine. This vertical: movement of the. angle. liars. 16' is. accomplished by meansolfflcams .20 which .are vpivotally mounted as onlserewsf 21Qthreaded into the. angles 3 (see especially Figs. 2, 4 and=5) therebeing two cams 20. ateachside ofithe machine. Camshave. curved. arms 22:.formed. thereon and the arms of these 1c amsv extend downwardly at each. side of the machine. and are interconnected by. horizontallinks. .23. which. have forwardfofiset end portions forming handles L (Eigs. .1..and..4;) By pushing. handles 24:.

rearwardly, earns. 20 are: turned about their pivotal. screws 2L to...theirv upright positions to. elfect. the. raising. ofanglebars l6. and hence. the raising ofQbedZ 10 so that this; bed. may he ammed; against bottom..of. the press. body, whereas; when handles.2t are.

pulled forwardly the anglev bars 16. arelowered? so. that the bedimay be lowered away fromlthe bottomof thepress b.ody.. L and 3 show. the bottom. or; bed. 10 in its raised; position, whereas Fig. 4: shows. this bed'lO iniit'slowerediposition ready forre. moval from themmiine... i

In order. to performthe pressingoperation the machii1e is providedwitli removable. plunger or cross-head 25fwhichis slidably mounted for vertical movement within the press body ofthe machine. This plunger con.-

tending transversely of. these slats. A yoke (ill 27'extends transversely of the ,machine and lies between the angle bars.-26 and is secured to.-thesez-angle barsras. by rivets. Asplunger. 25 moves up and down Wit-hm the. crib, the

yoke 27 also. moves up and down, this yokev extending through slots provided between ad.-

jacent slats 6 at the sides of, the crib.

V In order to. provide for the complete removal'of the yoke :27 "as well as for the. vei tical movement thereof within the crib the bars 5 ;atithe top ofthemachine and'the bar. 8 ofthe machine. are. vertically slotted. or. di- I a pawl 4C3'that is pivotally mounted vided transversely to accommodate such movement of this yoke 27. The yoke 27 carrying the plunger 25 is urged upwardly by coil compression springs 28 positioned within hollow retaining cylinders 29 mounted at the sides of the press body 9. ,Retaining cylinders 29 are mounted on the lower offset ends of plates 30,- which plates. in turn rest upon angle bars 31 secured to the frame members 3. Screws 32- extend through apertures in the angle bars 31 and through aligned apertures in the retaining cylinders 29, tothereby act to hold these cylinders in fixed position upon the frame of the machine. Coil compression'springs' 28 are preferably secured at theinlower ends tothe screws 32. The retainingcylinders29 are split transversely at 3 3; for the greaterv portion of their lengths to receivethe yoke 27 and'to permit vertical movement of this yoke.

The ends of the-yoke 27 have depending hangers 34L secured thereto. The hangers 34; are aperturedfor. receiving removable hooks 37 to which are attached cables 38 of a power transmissionmeans. Cables 38 extend downwardly from the hooks 37 and are wrapped around'pull eys. 39 which, are fixed upon a transverse shaft 4-0 that is. mounted ii1bearings 4-1 provided on 1 frame of the machine.

'Brackets52-are mounted on the an de bars 16' and carry rollers 53 for engaging the cables 38ia11d.for causingthese cables to extend straight downwardly from the hooks 37, so that the pullofthis cable upon the yoke 27 will be a vertical pull and will not tend to cause this yoke to bind in the slots 33 of the retaining cylinders 29.

A- ratchet wheel 42 is fixed'upon one end of" the shaft lO'andis adapted to be actuated by upon a hand lever A which is turnably mounted on the hub 45' of ratchet wheel 42. Pawl 43- maybe released from engagement with the ratchet wheel 42 at will by means of releasing linkage ifi'ofj well known construction. By manipulating hand lever l lthe pawl 4w may be caused to rotate ratchet wheel42, thereby rotatingsh'aft 40 and the pulleys 39 so that the. cables38 are wrapped thereon, thereby effecting the downward movement of the plunger 25 against the tension of springs 28 and againstJthe resistance of any fruit or othermaterial which may be contained within thepress body 9.

' ,A stop pawl 47'. is pivoted upon the base 2" andengages ratchet'wheel42 for preventing reverse turning of thiswheel when thehand lever 44'is being pushed backwardlyn A coil spring 48 holds stop pawl 47 inenga-gement w'it'hthe teeth of ratchet wheel 42. A foot lever 50fis pivotall-y supported upon thebase 2 and a link. 51 interconnects thisfoot lever with stop pawl 47. By pressing downwardly upon foot lever 50, pawl fi may be causedto disengage ratchet wheel. 42.

overcoming saidt spring'means and for foreing said plunger downwardly within said press body' against-the resistance ofany mate rial therein, a removable-bed for" c'l'osingfthe' sion' springs carried by said frame and engaging said yoke for urging said plunger up ing said bed on said frame, said supporting means being operable to move saidbedvertically with respect to said pressbody, whereby said bed may be moved either upwardly into:

gclosi and abutting engagement with the ri bottomof said press body as in preparation '01 compressing material therein, or downward- 1y away from "said press body bottom as for the purpose ofdisengaging said bed from the compressed material within said press'body after'an operation-of said'plunger and in preparation of removing said bed and the compressed material from said press, l

3. In a press of the kind described, in co-mi bi-nation, iaframe, a hollowpressbody supported on said frame, said press body being ope-n at its top and bottom, a plunger adapted to be inserted into the top of said press body for movement therein, means mounted a on said frame and connected to said plunger for moving said plungerdownwardly within said press; body to compress material" therein,a removable bed for closing the bottom-of said pressbody, camspivotallym'orint- 1 ed at the sides ofsaid frame and arranged in supporting relation WllZhTQSPSCt to-said bed,

said cams being manually operable tomove said bed vertically with respect to said press" body, whereby said bed may be moved either upwardly into closing engagementiwith the bottom of said press as in" preparation of compressing material therein, or downward ly and away from said press body as for the lect'ed by said sump and delivered through may bemoviedi either, upwardly into closing engagement with the'bottom of saidlpress body as in (preparation of compressing ma terialtherein, or downwardly and away from said press body'as for the purpose of disengaging said. bed from the compressed mate rial within said press body afteran operatiorrlpof said plunger, saidbed'v then being readily removed from said press by sliding thesame transverselyof said barfmeinbers.

In testimony, that. Iclaim the invention set 1 fbrth :above I have hereunto set myhand this lGthjday ofSeptember, 19 231. a ANTHONY MACCHIA,

mark purposeofdisengaging said bed from the compressed material withinsaid press-body 5 after an operation ofsaid plunger, whereby said bed is freed and may rea'dily'bemoved from said press. I

4. In a press of the kind described, incombination, a frame, a hollow apertured press body supported on said frame," said press body being open at its top and bottom,j'a removable plungeradapted to be insertedinto' i the top of said press vbody for movement therein, said plunger having a yoke extending outwardly of said press body, compres;

wardly within said press body,'ma=nually op-V erable ratchet transmission means mounted on said frame for connection to said' yoke to effect downward. movement of said. plunger I against the tension of, said compression V springs, whereby material 'wlthin said press body is compressed, a removable apertured bed for closing the bottom of=said press body, 7

said bed being provided with'a sump thereunder and a spout connected to said sump, whereby juices flowing through the apertures insaid pre'ssbody and in said bed will be col A pulp pan 54 is positioned below the bed 10 and is adapted to catch the pulp forced out of the press body 9 after the bed 10 has been removed from the machine. Pan; 54 has a transversely extending plate 55 secured, as

the pan 54 may be removed from the machine.

In use, to place fruit orother material into the press body of the machine for pressing, foot lever 50 is depressed while at the same time the releasing linkage 46 is manipulated to disengage pawl 43 from ratchet wheel 42" so that this ratchet wheel is free torevolve under the action of springs 28, which springs force yoke 27 upwardly, unwinding cables 88 from pulleys 29. Yoke 27 may then be raised manually so as to completely remove plunger 25 from the body E). The bed 10 is inserted int "position in the machine and the handles 24 are pushed rearwardly to cause the bed to be pressed firmly against the bottom of the press body 9, asillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The fruit to be pressed is then dumped into the crib and ests upon the bottom or bed 10. The plunger 25 is then reinserted into the crib and, with the foot lever 50 released and the pawl 43 in engagement with the teeth of ratchet 42, the hand lever 44 is manipulated to revolve ratchet wheel 42 and effectthe turning of pulleys 39 so that cables 38 are pulled downwardly, thereby overcoming the tension of springs 28 and causing the yoke 2. to move plunger 25 downwardly within the body 9 to compress the material within this press body.

Owing to the relatively great leverage 'or mechanical advantage of the hand lever 44,

a relatively slight pull upon this lever will cause the plunger 25 to exert an enormous pressure upon the material within the press body, so that all juices of the material are excreted through the slots between the slats of the press body. These juices flow into the s mp 12'and from thence into the spout 14 from which they are delivered into a suitable receptacle. After the fruit or other ma terial has been completely compressed, the pressure of the plunger 25 upon the same may be released by releasing he ratchet wheel 42, which releasin action is accomplished by depressing the foot lever 50 and operating releasing linkage 46 to disengage pawl 43 from the ratchet wheel.

In order to remove the pulp from'the crib, the handles 24 arepulled forwardly thereby lowering the bed 10 into the position shown in F p and enabling easy removal of this bed from the machine; Hand lever 46 is then again manipulated to move the plunger 25 downwardly and force the pulp into the pan 54 after which the same may be removed from the machine.

It willcbenoted that the fruit press of this invention is of extremely simple construction and is powerful in its action. The novel construction of the machine providing for the lowering of the bed 10 enables the easy removal of this bed regardless of the pressure which has been previously exerted upon the material within the press body. I The lowering of the bedremoves the same from frictional engagement with the compressed material in the, press body and hence enables the ready forward sliding of the same outvardly of the machine,

-A.s many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely 'difierent'embodiments of this invention could be made, without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Q

l fhat is claimed is:-

1. In a press of the kind described, in combination, a frame, a hollow press body supported'on said frame, said press body being open at its top andbottom and having apertured side walls, a removable plunger adapted tobe inserted into the 'top of said press body for movement therein whereby material contained within said press body may be compressed, a removable, apertured bed for closing the bottom of said press body, means. for supporting said bed on said frame, said supporting means being operable to move said bed ;vertically with respect to said press body, whereby said bed may be moved either upwardly into closing engagement with the bottom of said press body as in preparation of compressing material therein, or downwardly away from said press body bottom as for the purpose of disengaging said bed from the compressed material within said press body after an opera-v tion of said plunger and in preparation of removing said bed and the compressed material from said press, said bed having a greaterfwidth and depth than said press body so that liquid excreted through the side walls of said press body will flow downwardly and through the apertures of said bed.

. 2-. In a press of the kind described, in combinatioma frame, ahollow press body supported onsaid frame, said pressbody being open at its top and bottom, a plunger adapted to be inserted into the-top'ofsaid press body for movement therein whereby material con-,

tained within said press body may be compressed, sprlng-means mounted adjacent said press body and acting 'on said plunger for urging said plunger upwardly within said press body, transmission means carried by said frame and connectedto saidplunger for 

